Chapter 760 Three Million US Dollars! (8000-word update!)
"The North American distribution rights for 'Dragon Inn' were bought out by Midoriya for ten million US dollars."
Before joining the cast of "Burning Fire 2", Chen Ziyan brought back this news.
Lu Yanhe was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter.
Longyan... it really didn't "disappoint" him at all.
Ten million US dollars, buyout.
Longyan made a whopping ten million US dollars in one go. This should be the highest buyout and distribution price for a Chinese-language film in recent years.
However, the buyout also means that all future revenue from "Dragon Inn" in North America will no longer be related to Longyan.
Lu Yanhe couldn't help but sneer.
Chen Ziyan asked, "Are you alright?"
“Great, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Lu Yanhe said. “It’s also a record buyout price.”
Chen Ziyan shook her head helplessly at the sarcastic tone in Lu Yanhe's voice.
“It doesn’t matter. Green Valley bought the film ‘Dragon Inn’ for such a high release price, so they will definitely come up with a better release plan,” Chen Ziyan said. “I heard that Green Valley is planning to hold a large-scale screening of ‘Dragon Inn’, starting with 2,000 cinemas.”
Lu Yanhe looked surprised.
"so much?"
“Yes,” Chen Ziyan nodded. “They watched the movie and are quite optimistic about its box office performance in North America.”
Lu Yanhe said, "With a target of 2,000 theaters, their box office target for 'Dragon Inn' is at least 30 million US dollars."
“Yes,” Chen Ziyan said. “I think Schmidt Lowry will contact you soon.”
Lu Yanhe: "Ten million US dollars to buy the North American distribution rights, this is a huge gamble for him."
"Given the box office success of 'Home Alone' and 'Buried,' it's not surprising that 'Dragon Inn' is receiving such attention after its critical acclaim at the Jose Film Festival," Chen Ziyan said. "However, in the future, you shouldn't send your own scripts to other directors to film. If you don't own the film rights, there will always be some people who can't see its true value."
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “That was because Liu Bige spoke up before, and I also thought he was suitable. It won’t happen again.”
Chen Ziyan said, "At worst, we'll just slow down our pace in the future, film fewer dramas, and invest the funds in big productions like this. Linghe can also gradually transform itself, trying to make one big production every year. The current financial situation should be able to support it."
"Yes, we can manage, but the company's team isn't ready yet," Lu Yanhe said. "I still want people in all departments and jobs to become more familiar with the film industry before gradually moving into big-budget productions."
"You're sending a lot of people to various big-budget film crews to train and learn, in order to accumulate relevant talent for the future, right?"
“Yes, that’s right.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “The real production industry is on a completely different level from the situation where a crew of dozens of people works. That requires highly professional personnel.”
Chen Ziyan nodded: "Okay, just go with your pace. I've read the plan that Chen Yin forwarded to me before. His ideas are very good. However, in addition to the thriller genre, I also suggest that Linghe could make a brand series of youth-themed movies every year, just like 'You Are the Apple of My Eye.' This is a series that is enduring and has a relatively stable box office."
Lu Yanhe said, "This brings up the issue I just mentioned to you, Sister Ziyan. Right now, our Linghe film production team is still too small to support such a large project. We're already working on several films at the same time."
“Yan He, you need to change one of your ideas. Not every film by Linghe needs to be made by people from Linghe,” Chen Ziyan said. “Look at Chen Siqi’s Jump Theater. She’s a media company that doesn’t produce film and television dramas, yet she has built such a brand. What does she rely on? She relies on cooperating with various production companies and teams, hiring them to shoot these dramas.”
Lu Yanhe: "But finding directors and production teams from outside is too uncontrollable."
“Don’t forget what you did in the beginning when you trained Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang,” Chen Ziyan said. “It’s a good thing that Linghe is signing directors and producers, but most importantly, Linghe needs a group of producers who can work alone to conquer the world. Right now, our Linghe is mainly in the role of Chen Yin, but one person’s energy is limited.”
Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.
“I’m just offering a reminder. This is a major difference I’ve observed between Linghe and other film and television companies,” Chen Ziyan added. “In fact, the reason Linghe has been able to reach this point so smoothly is because Linghe places great importance on production talent and deals directly with top-tier production professionals. Many film companies don’t deal with top-tier production professionals at all; the producers handle all the communication in the middle. To be honest, this can easily lead to them going astray.”
“Hmm.” Lu Yanhe said, “Sister Ziyan, I’ve thought about it and I understand what you mean, but if you ask me, who in Linghe I trust and who can be a producer right now, besides Chen Yin, I really can’t find anyone else.”
Chen Ziyan: "It's up to you to cultivate them. Wan Qingqing has done a great job cultivating them, hasn't she? She's currently in the United States alone, leading her team, and managing several film projects, such as 'Flypaper' and 'Red Eye Flight,' in an orderly manner. What I mean is, here in Linghe, you shouldn't just focus on cultivating top-tier production talents like directors. You also need to pay attention to first-class managers and production managers."
"good."
-
There are many capable people, but those who can be trusted and placed in the position of producer, managing huge sums of money, are very few and far between.
Just like the variety show "The Voice of China", since Xin Zixing left, the producer who took over, Deng Lu, has much less authority than Xin Zixing.
She is not involved in any of the program's business collaborations.
The coordination of the artists was handled by someone arranged by Shi Huo.
Li Zhenzhen also has a lot of say in the design of the program flow and the production of the content.
Although Deng Lu is in the position of producer, she is aware of her own situation.
Trust takes time.
But precisely because it takes time, it is necessary to plan ahead.
-
Chen Ziyan's reminder prompted Lu Yanhe to start "taking stock".
He needed to figure out which few people in Linghe Company he could relatively trust.
Chen Qin is one of them. However, Chen Qin has been working with Xu Tianming on copyright derivative development and is not very familiar with film and television production.
Apart from Chen Qin, there were practically no others whom Lu Yanhe truly trusted.
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized why many bosses, even knowing the drawbacks of "family businesses," still appoint many relatives to important positions.
Because compared to those problems, being betrayed, stabbed in the back, or even having someone abscond with your money is far more harmful.
However, Chen Ziyan is right.
People need to be nurtured.
Whether a person is trustworthy needs to be verified over time.
Since he wanted to expand his business further, he needed to cultivate a group of trustworthy people.
-
This summer is also a challenge for the people of Linghe.
A highly anticipated S+ level drama series, "Chinese Paladin," needs effective promotion before its premiere.
A film titled "There's a Strange Woman in the Building" is about to start filming, and three films are in the preparation stage.
The films "You Are the Apple of My Eye" and "Pui the Sea" were released one after another.
Both the production and promotion stages are tough battles to fight.
Chen Yin specially convened a mobilization meeting for everyone in the company.
After a passionate and inspiring speech, Chen Yin specifically emphasized that in October, a special summer bonus would be awarded to everyone based on their work performance.
With such a bonus as an incentive, everyone started to get seriously excited and cheer.
People in the industry say that the staff at Linghe are truly fortunate.
Not only are the regular salaries high, but during peak periods like these, there are also "critical period" bonuses. We absolutely ensure that every effort is rewarded.
To cope with such a workload, Chen Yin boosted morale internally and began recruiting talent within the industry, especially for the three films that were in the preparation stage.
Many resumes were even sent to Lu Yanhe.
For every person Chen Yin deemed promising, worthy of training, or whom he intended to entrust with important responsibilities, he would send a copy of their resume to Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan, asking for their feedback.
This is something Chen Yin has always insisted on.
His style is to do things thoroughly and meticulously, leaving no room for Lu Yanhe to have any doubts.
Of course, Lu Yanhe would also often show him full trust.
Basically, Lu Yanhe would not have any objections to the plans, candidates, etc. submitted by Chen Yin.
This is also the trust that Chen Yin has earned through his work achievements over the years.
In terms of internal company management, Chen Yin is much better than him.
After the second wave of promotion officially started, the drama "Chinese Paladin" entered its formal promotional period.
Yan Liang is currently filming, but the initial promotion does not require the participation of celebrities.
Lu Yanhe always told the company that for any film or television production, celebrities should only be a starting point, not the whole story.
Publicity efforts must reduce reliance on celebrities.
Therefore, just as an internationally renowned photographer shot a promotional short film about Jiang Zhi to generate buzz for "Chinese Paladin," Linghe's current promotion also focuses on content.
At the end of May, at the largest comic convention in the country, Linghe invited the most famous cosplayers in China to play the main characters in the play and performed the second version of the trailer on stage.
It was entirely in the form of a stage play, with the stage design and lighting all being of the highest standard.
The performance was broadcast live, and Linghe also arranged for photographers.
Following the live performance, this version of the trailer was officially released and published across the entire internet.
This trailer directly targets the core audience of "Chinese Paladin"—students.
Never underestimate the power of anime and manga.
Although this version of the trailer didn't get as many views as the first version, it completely surpassed the first version in terms of discussion, number of comments, and bullet comments.
With two trailers released in a row, the popularity of "Chinese Paladin" remains high.
Then, it was time for Lu Yanhe to join the cast of the second part of "Burning Fire".
A grand opening ceremony was held for the second part of "Burning Fire".
When Lu Yanhe arrived at the scene, he encountered Huang Zhongjing and Huang Tai.
Huang Zhongjing and Huang Tai both stepped forward to welcome Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe congratulated them with a beaming smile on the sale of the North American distribution rights for "Dragon Inn" for ten million US dollars, setting a new record.
Both sides seemed to be having a good time.
This scene perfectly illustrates what it means to be outwardly united but inwardly divided.
In addition to Shang Yongzhou and Lu Yanhe still starring in the movie "Burning Fire 2", another major character, Jia Long, has been added as a special guest star.
Jia Long and Lu Yanhe were already old acquaintances.
As a leading figure in domestic comedy films and a member of the current top-tier actor group, it is quite common for a top star to be added to such a successful series.
Lu Yanhe had no objections to the script for "Burning Fire 2".
Longyan understands production and knows how to put in the effort. Lu Yanhe has collaborated with Longyan so many times, and there have been almost no conflicts in terms of content and production. Problems have always arisen in the downstream links, such as publicity, sales, and so-called series and derivative works.
This is probably why Longyan has been able to join the top tier of domestic film companies.
-
The overall tone of "Burning Fire 2" is slightly lighter and more enjoyable than the first one.
The first part was set against the backdrop of the protagonist's revenge, while the second part shifted to an exploration of this fantasy world.
Therefore, Jia Long was specifically brought in to join the film, in order to play a more humorous, uninhibited, and funny role.
This is also why Lu Yanhe accepted the sequel script.
After all, after the revenge story in the first part, it would feel somewhat disjointed to suddenly have him or Shang Yongzhou's character take on this part. At this point, introducing a new character to lighten the heavy atmosphere at the end of the first part is a very good approach.
Lu Yanhe found Jia Long and said with a smile, "Brother Long, we've known each other for so long, and we've finally started working together."
Jia Long also laughed and said, "Yes, I was just saying that. We've worked together so many times, but this is the first time we've actually acted together as actors in a movie. Please give me your guidance. I'm new here, so you, the veteran actor, have to mentor me."
Lu Yanhe immediately made a gesture of pinching his philtrum, "Help me, how can you, an old actor, say something like that?"
Jia Long: "Why should I be embarrassed when I say this? I didn't say anything wrong."
Lu Yanhe: "Please."
The people around them laughed along.
Jia Long: "Oh, right—"
He pulled Lu Yanhe aside, lowered his voice, and asked, "Are you really not going to write any more scripts for the 'Lost in Thailand' series?"
Last year during the Spring Festival, although the reputation of "Lost in Thailand" declined significantly compared to the first film, it still grossed 1.1 billion yuan, which was still an outstanding achievement.
Jia Long had been wanting to work on a third installment, but he had many projects on his hands, and Lu Yanhe kept saying that he didn't plan to write any more scripts, so the third installment was put on hold.
Now, Jia Long has brought up the topic of a third installment.
Lu Yanhe said, "Brother Long, I really have no ideas for the rest of the script. If you want to do it, I'll authorize you to do it. That's all negotiable."
The copyright and development rights to the story "Lost in Thailand" are held by Lu Yanhe.
If Jia Long wants to film a third installment, he definitely needs Lu Yanhe's authorization and consent.
But Lu Yanhe would definitely agree.
Just because he doesn't want to do this series anymore doesn't mean he doesn't want others to do it.
If Jia Long is willing to continue, then he will authorize someone else to do it.
In particular, his collaboration with Jia Long has always been very pleasant.
When he wrote the first film, "Lost in Thailand," it was Jia Long who secured a share of the profits for him, allowing him to enjoy the same treatment that only senior screenwriters typically receive for his first film as a screenwriter.
Moreover, Lu Yanhe also remembered very clearly that if it weren't for Jia Long's insistence, "Lost in Thailand" might not have been able to be filmed normally at all.
At that time, none of the film companies were willing to offer satisfactory terms.
Jia Long nodded.
“If you really don’t plan to write it, I’ll find another screenwriter to write the script,” he asked. “Would you mind?”
“I don’t mind.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “It’s really fine, Brother Long. If I really had ideas for this series, I would have done it myself. I just feel that, at least for me, I’ve run out of ideas for this story. I can’t write a story that I’m satisfied with on this theme.”
Jia Long nodded.
“Okay, then I’ll schedule a time with you later to see how to get me authorized to make the third installment,” he said proactively.
Lu Yanhe waved his hand, "Don't bother with all that. Just have someone draft an authorization agreement, and I'll authorize you or your company to produce three 'Lost in Thailand' movies. Just give me a small licensing fee, that's all I need. Once you've actually got production on the agenda, leave me a few technical positions, and I'll send some people from Linghe over there to learn and improve their skills."
Jia Long stared at Lu Yanhe in shock.
“Are you kidding me? You can’t do it like this,” Jia Long said. “Don’t mess up the market. I don’t want to listen to you. I’ll come to your company later. You can bring Ziyan and your people. We’ll have a good talk about how much this involves.”
Lu Yanhe: "...To be honest, Brother Long, I didn't really do anything for these two movies except provide the scripts. Finding investors, filming, and releasing them...you took care of all of that. The success of the movies is mainly due to you. I only did a tiny little thing."
“What you consider trivial is a goldmine in the market.” Jia Long waved his hand. “If I don’t tell you, you won’t understand anything. Let’s talk about it later. Just make sure you don’t want to continue writing the rest of the script.”
Lu Yanhe shook his head.
"I won't write it, I won't write it."
-
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, on the first day of filming after the opening ceremony, Schmidt Lowry actually came to visit the set.
He was invited by Huang Zhongjing.
Midoriya was in charge of the North American distribution of the first "Burning Fire" film, which ultimately grossed over five million US dollars.
For Midoriya, they definitely made a profit, but for Chinese-language films like this, the profit is not much; it can only be described as a relatively stable source of income (because the purchase price was low enough).
Schmidt Lowry came to see "Burning Fire 2" because he intends to acquire the distribution rights for all regions except mainland China.
For Huang Zhongjing, this was certainly a major client.
Lu Yanhe didn't know how they discussed it.
Anyway, he has nothing to do with the copyright of "Burning Fire 2".
One thing is certain: Lu Yanhe is entitled to 5% of the overseas revenue from "Burning Fire 2".
If the distribution rights for "Burning Fire 2" are sold outright, Lu Yanhe's earnings from this film will be much less than expected.
Because, generally speaking, the 5% figure usually refers to the share of box office revenue.
If Longyan itself does not enjoy a share of overseas box office revenue—of course, this doesn't mean that if it does, the revenue from this part will necessarily be higher—then Lu Yanhe will naturally not enjoy it either.
Based on the $10 million price tag for the distribution rights to "Dragon Inn," Lu Yanhe would get 5%, which would be $500,000.
To say it's a small amount is an understatement. But compared to expectations, it's far less.
Moreover, given the box office performance of the first "Burning Fire" film in the United States, it is completely impossible for "Burning Fire 2" to receive the same distribution price as "Dragon Inn".
Schmidt Lowry was on set watching Lu Yanhe film a scene.
This is just a very ordinary scene, a few people bickering with each other.
Lu Yanhe acted with ease, one could say he was completely at ease.
After the scene was filmed, Schmidt Lowry clapped his hands in a serious manner, drawing surprised glances from those around him.
Schmidt Lowry didn't care at all about his surroundings.
He waited for Lu Yanhe to come out of the filming location, then walked up to him with his arms outstretched, laughing, and said, "Lu, you are amazing, truly incredible."
Lu Yanhe smiled, shook his head, and asked, "Schmidt, don't praise me so exaggeratedly. I still can't stand your style of praising people."
Schmidt Lowry immediately said, "You have to accept that, and you know you'll hear this kind of praise from many people."
Lu Yanhe felt somewhat helpless.
These foreigners, when they praise someone, they really go to extremes.
Especially when dealing with someone with a personality like Schmidt Lowry, it goes without saying.
Huang Zhongjing was standing next to Schmidt Lowry.
The owner of "Burning Fire 2".
But at this moment, Schmidt Lowry's attention was entirely focused on Lu Yanhe, with Huang Zhongjing standing behind him like a follower.
Lu Yanhe asked, "Schmidt, are you here to visit the set today?"
Schmidt Lowry nodded and said, "I also handled the distribution of 'Burning Fire' in North America. The film did quite well at the global box office, and now they're making a sequel, and you're still starring in it, so I came to check it out."
“You’ve handled a lot of distribution for Chinese-language films in North America now,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “It feels like you’ve taken over the whole business.”
Schmidt Lowry said, "I'm in the film business, and when I discovered that Chinese-language films could also make money, of course I came here."
He admitted it very frankly.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
“Actually, I have another business deal I want to discuss with you,” Schmidt Lowry said. “To be precise, I want to discuss it with your girlfriend, Chen Siqi.”
"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
-
“Schmidt is interested in those short plays from Jump Theatre,” Lu Yanhe told Chen Siqi on the phone. “He seems to think that these plays can be re-edited into TV movies, streamed on their American TV stations, and then directly entered the DVD and streaming markets.”
Chen Siqi: "How did he know about the Jumping Theater?"
She was surprised.
Lu Yanhe said, "I don't know where he found out, and it seems that he also wants to buy the adaptation rights to some of the stories and turn them into English films."
Chen Siqi: "That would be great!"
Under normal circumstances, a TV series can generate around 1 million yuan in revenue within a year of its release, after deducting production and marketing costs. With more than 40 series a year, the revenue would be around 50 million yuan.
While it doesn't constitute the majority of Jump Up's revenue, the value of Jump Up Theater to the Jump Up brand far exceeds this 50 million figure.
Just like the sales of the magazine "Jump Up," the magazine can generate a net profit of over 20 million yuan in a year.
However, without Jump Up magazine, there would be no Jump Up Theater.
Similarly, without these two entities, other business segments such as copyright operation, self-media matrix, cultural product management, and advertising and marketing would not be able to expand rapidly.
In fact, the net profits of Jump Magazine and Jump Theater could have increased significantly.
For example, magazines could reduce production costs, lower exorbitant article fees, increase sales prices, and add more advertising space. Alternatively, platforms like Yuehu TV could be asked to increase the purchase price of shows like those produced by Jumping Theater, or to reduce production costs.
But none of these things were done, even when they jumped up.
Now, Midoriya wants to buy the distribution rights for Jump Out Theater's shows in the United States, and even the adaptation rights, which naturally becomes a new profit growth point for Jump Out Theater.
Schmidt Lowry arrived at Chen Siqi's place the next day.
After two rounds of talks, the two sides reached a preliminary cooperation agreement—a framework cooperation.
In the first round of framework cooperation, Jump Up sold the overseas distribution rights of twelve Jump Up Theater productions (excluding some that had already been bought for streaming rights by Maxine and HP) to Midoriya for $3 million over five years.
Over the course of five years, Midoriya will have the distribution rights and derivative development rights for these twelve films outside of China.
This derivative development right can only be obtained by jumping up and down.
Because the original copyrights of these plays are also in Jump's hands, they can coordinate negotiations.
Since this is the first round of framework cooperation, Chen Siqi does not prioritize price.
She hopes that Midoriya can find overseas markets for all twelve films through this first round of framework cooperation. If the first round of cooperation is commercially successful, then further negotiations can proceed.
Chen Siqi only made one request regarding this collaboration:
The name "Jump Up Theater" will be retained.
In response, Green Valley also made a request: within two years, Jumpstart cannot engage in similar licensing collaborations with other companies; in other words, Green Valley is the exclusive partner.
Chen Siqi readily agreed.
After reaching a strategic cooperation agreement, the two companies spent about twenty days finalizing the details of the cooperation. On June 19th, they held a signing ceremony in Yuming and signed the agreement with Schmidt Lowry on site.
-
Lu Yanhe, who had been filming on the set of "Burning Fire 2" for nearly a month, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the news photos of the signing ceremony on his phone.
Over the past twenty days, Chen Siqi has called him several times a day to ask for his opinion on some detailed issues.
Because it was her first time collaborating like this, Chen Siqi was afraid of being taken advantage of.
He made $3 million and earned nearly 20 million RMB in one go.
Just then, some unknown marketing account started a hashtag: #Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi, this couple, are making all the money in the entertainment industry#
Most importantly, this topic has become incredibly popular.
Many people are calculating how much money Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi have earned in the past few years.
Chen Siqi is not like Lu Yanhe. She has criticized others on Weibo just as many times, and Yu Jiang is a testament to that.
This time, she couldn't hold back and posted an update:
The title of this topic... makes it sound like someone could make this money before? Isn't it just that this path to making money didn't exist before, and we've now found it?
Indeed, in recent years, Lu Yanhe is the only person in the domestic film and television industry who has been able to earn US dollars from overseas time and time again.
Of course, now, because of the Jumping Theater incident, there's another Chen Siqi.
Different approaches.
In fact, it was not long before someone came forward and said that since Lu Yanhe had established a stable cooperation with Hollywood, even Longyan had also gotten in touch with Green Valley through several projects in cooperation with Lu Yanhe. Green Valley was in charge of the North American distribution of several films.
It's not just this company in Longyan; over the years, how many Chinese actors have used Lu Yanhe's connections to earn money overseas for filming?
This statement has garnered widespread approval.
There was no theft or robbery, so why are you so sour?
Lu Yanhe, as always, ignored it and did not respond.
One day later, the 3rd Jump Up Critics International Film Festival opened.
Renowned film critics from more than 30 countries came to Yuming, including Wu Yang, artistic director of the Jose Film Festival, and the editor-in-chief of Jose Film.
Wen Shengming, as a representative of the China Film Association and the organizer of this year's Jump Up Critics International Film Festival, welcomed their arrival.
It remains a small, unofficial film festival.
This wouldn't have been a big deal, until this film festival suddenly became news and made it onto the evening news.
Everyone knows that the CCTV Evening News is essentially a top-level signal.
It would be normal for this film festival to be reported on the movie channel, but what about the evening news?
Anyone with a modicum of sense could sense that there might be a hidden trend behind this, the exact nature of which was still unknown.
Lu Yanhe pretended he knew nothing and stayed obediently in the film crew, filming "Burning Fire 2".
(End of this chapter)
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